


Reliance

by SixofCrowsBabies



Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bruce and Harvey went to school together, F/M, Harvey proposed earlier, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Possibly OOC, Slightly Sad, Takes place before the dark knight, The Dark Knight - Freeform, yeah its probably ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-09 00:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17396672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SixofCrowsBabies/pseuds/SixofCrowsBabies
Summary: A slightly short fic that takes place pre-The Dark Knight.





	Reliance

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fic that took me the longest to write, and even though it’s slightly different than what I’m going for, I think it’s kind of decent. This movie gets me in the goddamn feels every time, mostly because of the story around these three, so I just had to write about it.

“Harvey, how do you feel about Bruce Wayne,” asks Rachel. She rubs his chest idly. 

“I think he’s a right jackass,” Harvey answers. 

They’re silent for a moment, Rachel continuing her finger movements and Harvey stroking her hair occasionally. 

“You went to school with him though,” she says, breaking the silence. 

Harvey rolls his eyes slightly, then says, “Yeah, we did. We were friends, maybe, allies, frenemies, sometimes not even on speaking terms…”

He trails off, suddenly looking more distant. Rachel rests her hand and looks up at him. 

“Harv,” she says, questioning. 

He averts his eyes, then continues. 

“Yep, me and Bruce went to school alright. Had a weird relationship. Even...we even had a fling.” 

Rachel turns her head even more to look at him. His eyes are cast downward, jaw slightly set. 

“You,” she responds, voice somewhat shaky. “You...had a fling with Bruce Wayne?”

“Yeah,” he says. “One night, after a particularly difficult final and my big debate tournament, we were both in the courtyard, waiting for our rides. Then suddenly, Bruce gets really close and leans over and...kisses me. We get into it, then he remembers that there could be people watching and neither of us could be caught for something like this. Then his car pulls up, and he offers to give me a ride to my house. After we get in the car, he tells the butler to bring us to his house, we’re having a sleepover.”

He pauses, then grins slightly and says, “You can imagine where things went from there.” 

“Was it just that one time,” Rachel asks. 

Harvey barely shakes his head. “God no, it wasn’t just one time. There were times after debate competitions, play rehearsal, overnight field trips. Sometimes we would designate nights ahead of time where we would have sleepovers.” He says that last word with a wink. 

Rachel wonders if she should ask this next question. Harv seemed to be a little sensitive about this facet of his and Bruce’s relationship. 

But if they were going to do this, she had to know. 

“Harv, do you think you’re...bi,” she asks carefully. 

She watches his face, expecting to see contemplation, shame, maybe that anger he contained deep within. 

“Yeah, I guess it does,” he replies. No hesitation. No anger. 

Rachel leans her head back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling with a blank look on her face. A few moments later, she gets out of bed and leaves the room. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Good morning,” Harvey says as he enters the kitchen, carrying a briefcase in one hand and a file in the other. 

“It’s a wonderful morning,” Rachel replies.

She sips her coffee as he circles the table and sits across from her. Breakfast this morning is nice, toast and eggs and berries. They eat together for a few minutes, then they both get up to go to work. There’s a big case today, one that could quite possibly decide how the city’s future will play out. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she says as they walk into the courtroom. She gives him a small peck, then turns and goes into a room. 

Harvey sighs and looks around the lobby. If he was being honest, he was going to need more than a peck if we really wanted to win this case. Sometimes he thinks the pressure will kill him, make him have a heart attack in front of the whole city and spend months in the hospital where the government will just give him more cases, then he’ll eventually have another heart attack, and that leads to a stroke…

_ God _ , he just needs someone to love him right now, to tell him that no, he’s not going to die twenty years early, that he’s appreciated.

“Hey Harv,” says a voice as a man enters the room. 

Harvey can recognize that voice anywhere. 

“Bruce,” Harvey says as he turns around, big smile on his face. 

The Wayne approaches him, claps a hand on his shoulder and says, “Heard about the big case, tonight I would stop by and show my favorite District Attorney some support.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda hard to miss it,” Harvey responds. “You know you’re not here to show me support Bruce, so what’s the real reason you’re here?”

Harvey thinks he sees a flicker upon Bruce’s face, a hint of something lurking, but it is gone so quickly he might have just imagined it. 

“Well, you’re right, I couldn’t miss it,” Bruce says in a more serious tone. “I’m worried about what’s best for Wayne Enterprises, and this guy’s fate is significant.”

Harvey nods. It’s a standard explanation, one that makes sense, but he can’t help feel a little upset that Bruce used visiting him as a bullshit excuse. 

“Everything alright, Harv,” Bruce asks. 

Harvey jerks to attention and looks Bruce in the eye. The DA hadn’t realized he was showing his emotions so openly. A dangerous habit in this city. 

“Just a little worried about the trial,” Harvey replies, adding an air of casualness to his tone. 

“I’m sure you’ll do great, Harv,” Bruce says. “You always do.” 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Harvey and Rachel win the case by a landslide. During the trial, Bruce was watching intently, seeming to pay more attention whenever anyone mentioned Batman. Rachel wonders if Harvey noticed, but he seems more focused on his job than on Bruce Wayne. 

When court is dismissed, Harvey and Rachel leave the room and go outside, greeting a swarm of photographers and reporters. They both answer a question or two, then wave goodbye and keep moving. When they get outside the courthouse, Bruce is leaning against his car. When he sees the couple, he stands upright and smiles. 

“Harvey, Rachel,” he says as he approaches them. “I knew you could do it.”

“You believed in me,” Harvey says dryly.

Bruce hesitates for a second, then chuckles and responds, “You read my mind, Harv.”

Harvey begins to walk away, then Bruce says, “Hey, you all aren’t doing anything tonight, are you?”

Harvey is about to reply, but Rachel lays a hand on his arm and says, “No, we’re not.”

She trails her hand down to hold Harvey’s, who looks as if he wants to protest, but he keeps his mouth shut.

“I suppose you’ll accept my dinner invitation, then,” Bruce says.

“Of course,” she answers. 

They bid their goodbyes, then Harvey and Rachel head to their car. 

“How nice of you to ask if I have anything to do this evening other than have dinner with Bruce Wayne,” Harvey says, visibly annoyed. 

“Because if I did you would have made up an excuse not to go,” says Rachel. “It’s just dinner. The most civil of meals.” 

He grimaces, then says, “You’re lucky you’re very difficult to argue with.”

“That’s why I’m a good lawyer,” she replies.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The couple meets Bruce at Le Parloir Privé, an expensive establishment on the West side of Gotham. Bruce texted them earlier, stating that he had a reservation for 7:00. 

Harvey wears a simple black suit with a red tie. While he gets dressed, Rachel walks around in the house in a robe, wondering about what she should wear. 

“Purple or red,” she asks, holding up both dresses. 

Harvey considers both, then answers, “Red.” 

They arrive at the restaurant and go inside. Bruce is sitting at a table, a glass of wine in front of him. 

“Damn, you could have at least gotten us a reservation at a classy restaurant,” Harvey says as he walks up to the table. 

Bruce looks up and smiles. “I suppose you hate me now,” he asks jokingly. 

Harvey smiles, but slightly averts his eyes. 

“Hello, Bruce,” says Rachel, drawing Bruce’s attention away from Harvey. 

“Ah, Rachel,” Bruce replies. “You look radiant, as always.” He looks closer at them, then adds, “Matching outfits? I didn’t know you were that kind of couple.” 

“Why thank you,” she responds, giving a little smile. “And no, we are not.” 

They sit and order their food, then begin asking each other about their days, recent events, anything coming up. The three of them settle into an easy rhythm, talking and laughing more easily than they did with anyone else. 

After a few glasses of wine and a decent amount of them laughing uncontrollably and slightly too loud to be acceptable, Bruce asks, 

“I have a decently large stake in the restaurant, but I don’t know how much they’ll tolerate us right now. What do you say we take this back to my place?”

“The sober part of my brain says that’s a good idea,” Harvey replies. 

They ask for the bill and pay quickly, then head outside and call Alfred to pick them up. 

“The car,” Rachel says, turning her body to look for her and Harvey’s car. 

“It’s fine,” Bruce says. 

Bruce’s butler arrives almost immediately, and the trio get into the car. Bruce sits on the left side, Harvey on the right, with Rachel in the middle. She leans her head against Harvey’s shoulder, closing her eyes and appearing to doze off. Harvey wraps his arm around her, holding her close and watching her through lidded eyes. 

Bruce watches them, then turns his head and pretends to look out of the window. Alfred looks at him through the mirror, his eyes going soft with sympathy. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rachel perks up slightly when the car stops. She sits upright and blinks her eyes a few seconds. She doesn’t immediately remember where she is, which makes her panic and look for an escape, then she sees Bruce. 

He’s standing outside the car, extending his arm towards her. Rachel remembers the French restaurant, the trial this morning, the talk she and Harvey had last night…

She nudges Harvey, then gets out of the car, taking Bruce’s hand. Harvey blinks himself awake, then realizes what’s happening and gets out of the car. Alfred closes the doors behind them, then unlocks the doors to the mansion and steps aside to let them enter. 

Harvey and Rachel barely glance around the mansion, its’ carved walls, its’ artwork and furniture, its’ lavish walls and floors. They’ve both seen it tons of times before. Instead they head towards the kitchen, towards the liquor cabinet stored within. Rachel giggles as Harvey immediately goes for the Scotch kept on the middle shelf, grabbing the bottle and popping the cork. 

The three of them go to the living room and sit on the couch, passing the bottle around. With each sip, Bruce’s hair comes more undone from its style, Rachel’s makeup becomes more smudged, Harvey’s suit becomes wrinkled and his tie comes loose. Nobody takes notice of it, simply enjoying each other’s company. 

After a while, however, all of them become too drunk to function. 

“Harv, I need to go to bed,” Rachel slurs, leaning back against his chest. 

“I think we both need to,” he slurs back. 

Alfred comes up to them and gingerly takes the bottle from Bruce. 

“Mr. Dent, Ms. Dawes, the guest rooms are this way,” says the butler, gesturing towards the right hallway. 

The couple begins to stand up and stagger down the hallway, but Bruce extends his arm and loosely grabs Harvey’s arm.

“You’re such a good friend, Harv,” Bruce says. 

The billionaire reaches out his other arm and half heartedly gestures to Rachel. “God, Rachel. You’re...you’re so lucky…”

“Alright, that’s quite enough Master Bruce,” Alfred interrupts. “Off to bed, now.” 

He gently steers Bruce away from the others and towards a different hallway. 

Harvey wants to ask Bruce what he said, what he means, but he finds himself too drunk to even stand, and he and Rachel walk to the guest bedroom. 

They find one with a semi-large bed and decide that that’s good enough. They take off all of their clothes, stumbling and fumbling along the way, then collapse into the bed. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Light comes through the window, beams landing directly on the bed currently being occupied by Harvey and Rachel. 

Rachel is the first to wake up. She touches her fingers to her forehead, feeling her old makeup. Her hangover is horrendous already. 

“Harvey,” she whispers, nudging him slightly. Neither of them are wearing clothes, but she can tell they didn’t even come close to doing anything last night. 

“Ra-Rachel,” Harvey mutters groggily. He blinks a few times and winces as he feels his hangover. 

“We should find Bruce,” says Rachel. She attempts to get out of the bed, then winces and sighs. 

Just as she is standing up, Alfred walks in. He sees the completely naked Rachel and quickly turns and walks out, muttering his apologies. 

“Did you bring us a hangover cure,” Harvey yells weakly. 

Rachel gets back into the bed and pulls the sheets all the way up to their necks. 

Alfred enters the room, cautiously opening the door and peeking in before he does, and comes over to the bed. He hands them each pills and glasses of water. 

“Thanks, Alfred,” mutters Rachel. “You’re the best.”

“Just doing my job, Ms. Dawes,” the butler replies. 

He leaves the room. The couple take their pills, then begin to get dressed in their clothes from last night. 

There is a knock at the door, then Alfred’s voice says, “Master Bruce has requested to see you.”

“Be there in a sec,” Rachel replies, voice hoarse. 

Harvey finishes tying his tie, then comes over to Rachel and mutters, “Do we have to talk to Bruce?”

“Yes, sadly we do,” she says. 

She nuzzles her head to his chest, then they share a quick kiss. 

“Your breath smells terrible,” she says, a small smile on her face. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Bruce sits at the kitchen counter, nursing a cup of coffee. As Harvey and Rachel enter, he looks up at them briefly, then looks back into the cup. 

“Bruce,” Rachel says softly. “I know that we got drunk last night, and that was a really bad decision, but...last night…”

“What is there to talk about,” Bruce asks. “I said something I shouldn’t have. That’s it.” 

“Come on, Bruce,” Harvey says. “Yeah, maybe we were drunk out of our minds, but whatever this is, you can talk to me about it.” 

The couple sits next to Bruce at the counter. Alfred grabs his tray and exits the room, leaving the three of them alone. 

“December third, junior year,” Bruce says, still looking at the cup. 

“I remember that day,” Harvey says. 

None of them say anything, then Harvey asks, “Why did you kiss me, Bruce?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” retorts Bruce. “It’s not like you denied it.”

“You’re right, I didn’t,” Harvey replies. “We kept it going for several months and I know why. Because we didn’t know ourselves yet. We were young. We experienced it, then we moved on.”

“No we didn’t,” Bruce yells. “No we didn’t, Harvey! I didn’t move on!”

“But I did,” Harvey yells back. He glances briefly at Rachel, who is sitting, arms crossed, watching all of this. Harvey didn’t want to hash this out in front of her, but-

“Goddamnit,” yells Bruce. “First you lead me on, then you take my girl-“

“I’m not your girl,” Rachel interjects. 

“But you could have been,” Bruce replies. “You would have been if Harvey Two-Face over here didn’t ‘figure himself out’ and decide he likes you!”

“I didn’t decide,” Harvey exclaims. “You don’t control love, Bruce. You can’t control how you feel.”

Bruce goes silent. He lost the fight. He knows it. 

Harvey and Rachel stand up and begin to leave, then Harvey turns around and says softly, “I’m sorry, Bruce.”

The billionaire doesn’t reply, just stares back at the coffee cup. 

“Let’s go, Harv,” Rachel murmurs. 

Harvey nods, and they continue walking. 

Alfred holds the front door open for them. Rachel mutters a small, “thanks” and walks down the steps. 

When they are somewhat away from the mansion, Rachel asks, “Did you know about Bruce’s-“

“No,” Harvey answers. 

“If you did,” Rachel says. “Would you have...would you have pursued something with him?”

Harvey thinks for a second, then says, “No. I don’t trust him. Bruce Wayne, the playboy, the billionaire with a tragic past and mysterious activities and constant disappearances and secrets. I don’t know if those things would stop if we were to get together.”

Rachel doesn’t reply, just keeps walking. They call a cab to the restaurant from last night, then retrieve their car and begin driving home. 

When they arrive at the duplex, Rachel says, “Harvey, you’re right about Bruce.”

“What about him,” Harvey asks. 

“He’s flighty,” she says. “He doesn’t...nobody can trust him. Not even me, his oldest friend. And he would never stop being like that.”

“Rachel-“ Harvey starts, but she lays her hand over his. 

“I’m accepting your proposal, Harvey,” she states. “I’m marrying you.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you enjoyed or possibly got some satisfaction out of it. Please leave kudos and comments, byyeeee


End file.
